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The First Spark
The First Spark was a Cosmic event of unparalleled importance in the development of the Boundless Universe. It was the result of all four of the Divine Forces colliding at the same spot, which created the great mountain Morza, as well as the Tree of Waking. It was this Tree, empowered by the Divine Energy of the four Forces that gave birth to the Ten Parent Races of the Boundless Universe, and kickstarted the dominion of living things throughout the Cosmos. History The period of pre-existence—when the Divine Forces expanded and collided in the boundless and lifeless universe—came to an end with a critical and sacred event known as the First Spark. For the first time ever, the four Divine Forces collided at the same exact time, and at the place of their union arose a land. Such was the force of the collision that the land was raised upwards to form the tallest mountain in existence, which would later come to be called Morza, or the Great Stone. At the summit of Morza, a tree bloomed from the Divine Forces’ pure cosmic energy. This tree, dubbed the Tree of Waking 'by those who would come after, was the first living thing in the cosmos. It would serve as a catalyst for the Divine Forces, who could use the Tree’s fruit to create living, sentient beings. Beneath the Tree of Waking came ten races of beings: four divine, five semi-divine, and one mortal. These divisions are based on the connections the various races had to the Divine Forces—those races born sooner had a greater connection to the Divine Forces, and as such were dubbed ‘Divine’ races (frequently but inaccurately called ‘Gods’ by mortals who came to know of them). The semi-divine still could access the Divine Forces, but were somewhat less formidable, though later generations would prove that even semi-divine beings could attain the height of the divine. Finally, the one and only race of mortals, the last to awaken beneath the Tree, had practically no connection to the Divine Forces. The Ten Parent Races The first race to awaken beneath the Tree of Waking were the 'Aenold. The Aenold were living proof of a common ground between three Divine Forces. Of all the Divine Forces, Traeg was the most dangerous. Desiring only destruction and rot, Traeg was the undisputed enemy of all the other Divine Forces. In this, the other three Forces could unite—if but only for a moment. It was from the unity of The Aur, Hessa, and Lyra that the Aenold came to be. Like the Forces that created them, there were only three: three sisters, named Aurelia, Limerios, and Haestra. Each became dazzled with a different Divine Force, adopting names in the honor of their patron Force—Aurelia with the Aur, Limerios with Lyra, and Haestra with Hessa. They went their separate ways, devoting their time to communing with the Divine Forces and establishing realms in their name. The second race to awaken were the Magniri. Unlike the Aenold, the Magniri were born of only one Divine Force’s power: namely, the power of The Aur. In attempting to stop The Aur from creating a race of its own, Hessa and Lyra sent waves of cosmic energy to destroy the young Magniri. However, so great was the strength and natural resistance of the Magniri, the young beings absorbed and dominated the energy that was sent to destroy them. As a result, they became empowered with the abilities of three Divine Forces, even though they were beholden to The Aur. Four Magniri there were in all: two men, one woman, and one being that chose a genderless form. Respectively, they were named Azrite, Ismahael, Friya, and Yumé. The Magniri chose to follow Aurelios, the first sister of the Aenold, in establishing a realm dedicated to the Aur (which would eventually become Aurivald). The third race to awaken were the Lyriites (leer-ee-eye-ts). Fearful of the Magniri that it had failed to destroy, Lyra sought to create its own race of protectors for Limerios, the Aenold that had pledged herself to the forces of purity. Using the Tree of Waking, Lyra created the race of the Lyriites—a group of three families to follow Limerios. The other Divine Forces, recalling what had happened with the Magniri, did not attempt to prevent the birth of the Lyriites, lest they too absorb the energy intended to destroy them. The three families of Lyriites born beneath the Tree of Waking were led by Victos, Myra, and Lillurin, and assisted Limerios in creating a realm dedicated to Lyra (that would eventually be called Ilyria). The fourth race to awaken were the Hessites, born of Hessa’s energy. Much as Lyra intended to protect Limerios, the Aenold that had sworn fealty to it, so too did Hessa wish to protect Haestra. The Hessites were far more numerous than the previous races, with 100 beings being born into six different families. The families were the Vampiros, Myoma, Daemos, Succirae, Apothom, and Lucium. House Daemos was by far the most numerous, with over half of the first 100 Hessites being born to it. The Hessite families were divided by striking differences in appearance and ability—and they eventually came to be the six noble houses of Thalderyn. After the awakening of the Hessites, the Tree of Waking had been nearly spent. Each of the four Divine Races had been born through tremendous amounts of cosmic power, and the Tree of Waking—even though it too was Divine—could not bear the strain. After the last Hessite arose from its fruit, the Tree’s trunk cracked. Sensing the Tree’s weakness, the Aur, Lyra, and Hessa sought to protect what was left of the Tree (though for different reasons), and so ceased to use it. However, Traeg had yet to create its own race, and cared not for the Tree’s survival. Thus, it too used the Tree as its catalyst, but the cracked trunk of the Tree warped Traeg’s cosmic energy even further. This corrupted the Tree, whose once beautiful fruit became dark and foul. As a result of Traeg’s actions, the fifth race to awaken arose as warped and terrifying beings, who were named the Scraul. The Scraul were numerous and filled to the brim with Traeg’s dark power. However, because the Tree was a damaged catalyst, the Scraul were less aligned with the power of their Divine Creator, and as such could not be considered a Divine Race. Rather than showing dismay, Traeg seemed to delight in the vicious appearance of its followers, and blessed them with a powerful gift: consumption. The Scraul could ‘evolve’ by consuming one another, and reproduced at a terrifying rate. The result was an army of mutated, strong warriors who killed one another for sport and glory. The most powerful Scraul, upon consuming enough of their brethren, could assume a humanoid appearance, and could even be considered quite beautiful. These beings began calling themselves the “'Chaos Princes',” and had power that rivaled the mightiest of the other Divine Races. The Scraul quickly inhabited the terrestrial bodies that held Traeg’s cosmic energy, and continued their dark evolution. After Traeg’s corruption of the Tree of Waking, the other Divine Forces lamented the loss of the Tree’s splendor. The Aur and Lyra in particular were distraught, as the Aur considered the Tree to be important to preserving universal balance and harmony, and Lyra despised all that was corrupted. Together, they pooled their energy to heal the Tree of Waking, and to drive out the corrupting remnants of Traeg’s power. This restored the Tree of Waking, but inadvertently changed the Tree. The Tree had now obtained a significant portion of energy from all four Divine Forces, and from its roots to the tips of its leaves, the Tree dripped with power. The next few times the Tree bloomed, it gave birth to yet other races, which the Divine Forces had not intended. The sixth race to awaken, and the first race to be born from the Tree of Waking’s power alone, were the Mythrandos. Large and diverse beasts, these beings were not humanoid, but were rather supernatural monsters of various forms. The greatest of their kind were the Draegos, commonly called Dragons. Large and noble beings, the Dragons could take to the skies and rain elemental magic down upon their foes. While still semi-divine, the Dragons were fearsome and brave warriors, and quickly established homes around the Tree of Waking. Considering it their true and holy parent, the Dragons took it upon themselves to protect the Tree, and the mountain upon which it sat, the crown jewel of Raevald, the realm of awakening. The seventh race to awaken were the Anglittes. Humanoid warriors with silver-blonde hair and wings the color of clouds, they quickly grew to love Lyra. They elected to serve the Lyrittes, to protect the realm of Ilyria and to enforce the will of Purity. Many mortals, upon seeing the true forms of the Anglittes, dubbed them ‘angels,’ and worshipped them as Divine. The eighth race to awaken were the Spritas. The Spritas, while humanoid, were amazingly diverse in the forces that they could choose to master. While some were born with particular talents, the Spritas were not born aligned inherently with any particular force, thus allowing them to grow in whatever manner they so chose. The Spritas were rejected by the followers of Lyra and Hessa, as they were considered impure in form by the Lyriites (not being inherently aligned with Lyra), and indecisive by the Hessites. The Magniri, however, welcomed the Spritas as fellow children of the Divine Forces, and many Spritas—grateful to have found a home—dedicated themselves to serving the Magniri. One particularly devout group of followers formed the Cosmic Cross, an organization of powerful Spritas who specialized in wielding Syros, the Universal Force of Sanctity. The ninth race to awaken were the Braeka. Of all the races, the Braeka were perhaps most diverse. Some were humanoid, and some were not; like the Hessites, their forms were often determined by their different natures. Indeed, it was later debated among scholars whether the Braeka could even be considered one race, given how diverse their members were. Like the Spritas before them, the Braeka did not feel an initial attachment to one of the Divine Forces, and sought a home amidst the cosmos. Their strength and ferocity helped them stand out to the Hessites, who offered glory and power to them in exchange for their loyalty. They now inhabit Thalderyn. The final race to awaken were the Mortals. By this time, the Tree of Waking had used nearly all of the residual energy it had stored from the Divine Forces. As such, what little power remained was spent bringing the Mortals into being, and so the Mortals were given no connection to the Divine Forces. This made the bodies of the Mortals weaker than the other races: they succumbed to age and disease, and were far easier to break and cut. Whatsmore, the Mortals could not establish strong links to the Divine Forces, leaving them with only a weak connection to the Universal Forces (and even then, only after extensive training and natural talent). There was one thing, however, that the Mortals did have. Upon seeing the weakened forms of the Mortals, the Aur took pity on them. The Aur gifted the Mortals with a modified Soul; a spiritual link to the Divine Realms that would be activated upon the death of any Mortal. Depending on the Mortal’s actions in life, the Mortal would be sent to the realm that most aligned with their actions and beliefs—effectively giving them access to a second chance at life as a supernatural, ageless being. Those that were unworthy of this second chance, and lived lives of evil and cruelty, would simply lose their life energy to the Divine Forces upon perishing, as was the initial fate of all Mortals. The Aur’s gift to the Mortals enraged the other Divine Forces. Lyra saw the Mortals as a blight upon the purity of the Cosmos, beings without a connection to the Divine. Hessa had neither the time nor the patience for weak and inferior beings, and as the Mortals could barely defend themselves against each other, Hessa wished nothing but ill upon the Mortals. Traeg saw the Mortals as a brand new toy for it and the Scraul, and so despised the Aur for giving the Mortals such a magnificent gift.